Visualization is the graphic presentation of data -- portrayals meant to reveal complex information at a glance. Think of the familiar map of the New York City subway system, or a diagram of the human brain. Successful visualizations are beautiful not only for their aesthetic design, but also for elegant layers of detail that efficiently generate insight and new understanding.

This book examines the methods of two dozen visualization experts who approach their projects from a variety of perspectives -- as artists, designers, commentators, scientists, analysts, statisticians, and more. Together they demonstrate how visualization can help us make sense of the world.

Explore the importance of storytelling with a simple visualization exercise

Learn how color conveys information that our brains recognize before we're fully aware of it

Discover how the books we buy and the people we associate with reveal clues to our deeper selves

Recognize a method to the madness of air travel with a visualization of civilian air traffic

Find out how researchers investigate unknown phenomena, from initial sketches to published papers

Julie Steele

Julie Steele is an Editor at O'Reilly currently working on titles related to Python, SQL, PHP, web frameworks and CMS, databases (relational and non-relational), big data and cloud computing, and data visualization. She's also interested in data transparency and open government, and recently completed a master's degree in political science at Rutgers University.

Noah Iliinsky

Noah has spent the last several years thinking about effective approaches to creating diagrams and other types of information visualization. He also works in interface and interaction design, all from a functional and user-centered perspective. Before becoming a designer he was a programmer for several years. He has a master's in Technical Communication from the University of Washington, and a bachelor's in Physics from Reed College.

Consisting of a wide variety visualization examples, edited together to give a consisent impression of helpful methodology in turning data into pictures. This is a good theoretical book, filled with hands on examples, and concrete aspects of what data visualization ends up looking like in the field.

I just purchased this as a PDF after receiving a promotional email. I've thumbed through the printed book in the bookstore, and I remember it as a fairly slick-looking volume. I was disappointed to open the PDF and find it rendered with mostly low-quality graphical figures... many so grainy they aren't even legible. I expected more from a book about visualization. Bandwidth and disc space are cheap[...]

Bottom LineNo, I would not recommend this to a friend

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